Welcome to the AC Tropical Fish aquarium forum. Our aquarium forum is the place to discuss any aquarium related issue in a friendly environment. Our aquarium forum welcomes aquarists of all levels from beginners to experts. Please ask a question in the how to section of our forum or read the FAQ section if you have any questions. register to and become a part of our friendly aquarium forum community today.

NeeD PROFESSIONAL STAFF HELP!!!!

0

IM a new memeber and i need help every time i bought two bala sharks they were active and nice, but it all changed when i added new water. i change about 10% everey two weeks and i also add a liquid which stablises the water it is called geoliquid. but when i add the new water the two sharks died. i bought two new ones but this time one died and the other just goes to the top of the tank then comes down and turning its head it eats and move and been like this for two days there are no sihgns of ick or any symptoms of any disease. so please tell me how much water to change and what could be wrong with my fish or if there is anything at all.
Also u can email me at halophoenix_117@hotmail.com

It is hard to answer your question without more information such as water ph, nitrite and nitrate levels, ammonia levels in the water etc but I think the problem in your aquarium is the water quality. Changing 10% of the water every second week is too little, I would recommend changing about 20% once a week. What I think has happen is that your water quality have slowly gotten worse due to the small water exchanges you have made. The old fish became used tot he poor water conditions. This will however weak the fish and eventually lead to their death. In this case they where stressed in conjunction with your water exchange and died.

The new fish that hasn't gotten used to the poor water dies or shows symptoms like the one you describe due to the water quality.

I would recommend that it is time to clean your aquarium and make a few more water exchanges. Perhaps 20% every day for a week to improve the water quality again and than more frequent water exchanges to prevent this from happening again.

There are other potential causes for this but this seems to be the most likely scenario based on the information you given me.

Other things you need to check as it is possible causes is pH levels, can any foreign substance have been introduced to the aquarium. Have you put any new decoration in the aquarium lately?

last time i changed my water i changed 20% and a added a special liquid called geo liqued the water was so clear the fish were happy and swiiming normally. but when i changed the water the fish died. it seems they died from the liquid thts why i started to change less water. and my other question is how do u test the nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia levels in a tank. thanx very much the reply abouve has been great help

Well as i stated. the fact that the old fih seemed happy doesn't mean the water quality is good, they might have become used to poor water quality and hence seemed happy in it.

I am not very familiar with Goeliquid but from the little i have heard about it shouldn't have any negative effects like these.

You can test your water for nitritas, nitrates and ammonia with the help of siple test kits that are avilable in fish stores. They are very good to have at hand since they help you keep track of the water quality and make sure that it is good.

I also recommend that you download our free tropical fish ebook and read it if you haven't doen so allready tropical fish ebook

There are a number of ways to cure ich. If you would like to avoid udsing chemicals (and the cost thereof you can try the methods outlined in the article Ich: An Old Cure for an Old Disease

If you are lookign for ich medicine you have a lot of options available to you such as Aquarisol, QuickCure, and Rid-ich+ . I donšt know which medicines your fish store cariies but they ill have some type of ich medicne so just ask them for it and make sure that you follow the instructions for the medicine.

Also, would you please make a new thread if you have any other question in the future and not post it in an unrelated thread. I will answer you question as soon as I can anyway and will spot all new threads ;-)